Atelierista (artist working with children) Required

Reflections Nursery is recruiting a full-time Atelierista (artist working with children). Our current Atelierista, Angela Chick is leaving to pursue her artistic enterprises and we wish her well.   We are now looking for someone with a creative background and experience of working with young children. If you are interested in applying please contact: martin@reflectionsnurseries.co.uk
    

Professional Development Day - 20th October 2012

Children Creativity & Outdoor Learning

A Professional Development Day focussing on the work of Reflections Nursery, with reference to the Reggio Emilia Approach.

Date: Saturday 20th October 2012, from 10.00am until 3.30pm

Venue: Reflections Nursery, Worthing

Cost:  £60 (Full-time Students £30) including refreshments & lunch 

What is creativity and what is its significance for young children? How can we best support creativity in children? What is the role of the outdoors in supporting creativity?

Martin Pace, Director of Reflections, along with Angela Chick, Senior Atelierista and Yvonne Barr, Nursery Manager will be supported by other Reflections educators to give presentations and workshops drawing on six years of children’s learning at Reflections Nursery, Worthing and the Reggio Approach.

Participants:

We welcome registrations from all those working in the area of early childhood education and on creative arts/education projects with young children. 

Programme:

- Registration at Reflections Nursery, Worthing

- A guided tour of the nursery with a Reflections’ educator

- Presentation, ‘Children, Creativity and Outdoor Learning – the work of Reflections Nursery and inspiration from the Reggio Approach’ - Martin Pace & senior educators

- Lunch

- Concurrent Workshops to choose from:

Workshop 1:  Children learning in the outdoors – Martin Pace

Workshop 2:  The Atelier supporting children’s creativity – Angela Chick & Yvonne Barr

-  Free time to walk around Reflections Nursery

Please contact susan@reflectionsnurseries.co.uk  for further details.

Dead Beetle Sketch

Dead Beetle: Atelier Discussion: 12^th July 2012

Anna (3yrs 6 mths); Leo (3yrs 10 mths); Jem (4yrs 0 mths); Evie R. (4yrs 1mth); Esther (4yrs 4 mths); Lewis (3yrs 4 mths); Thomas (4yrs 5mths)

The Thursday Forest School group were leaving for the woodland and noticed a dead stag beetle on the stairs leading to the minibus. Leo and Jem believed this was a cockroach that had escaped from the Atelier (we have Madagascan Giant Hissing Cockroaches in our Atelier). On their return from Forest School, Leo came into the Atelier and told Angela he saw one of the cockroaches that escaped. He looked in to the cockroach tank to see if it had returned.  Leo saw some of the cockroaches sleeping and asked, “Are they dead?”

“There’s one that’s dead that is a baby one. It’s so small and dead but it’s not bone yet” Anna

“Where’s it gone?” Leo

“It’s gone somewhere different.” Anna

“Goes somewhere else.” Jem

“Maybe someone carries it away?” Anna

“If we give the cockroach over there which is dead some water then it might come back again” Evie R. (Referring to the dead stag beetle in a petri dish in the display case)

“When you die you never come back and you will cry because you will never never never never never never never never never never never see your mummy.” Esther

We get the tools to experiment with water and the dead stag beetle which had been in the display case.

“It will take 13 drops!” Evie R.

We count together.

“It won’t come back to life.” Jem

“When the cockroaches are dead, we can put water on them and it moves them back to life.” Esther

“He might float, won’t he?” Jem

“He won’t float or fly, he’ll go up in the sky.” Esther

“It is hard, why is he hard?” Anna

“Because we put water on it, he’s gone all coldy and shrivelled up” Evie R.

“He’s moving! He’s moving!” The children shout as the water pours in and the beetle spins around.

“No, he’s floating!” Jem

“He’s walking!” Evie R.

“He’s not alive…” Lewis (getting upset)

“When he’s alive he might be a cockroach” Evie R.

“He’s got dead legs” Evie L.

“He’s not going to fly ever again” Anna frowns and looks down at the table

“He’s going to get really big and fat with all that water” Anna

“We should leave it and wait” Evie R.

“How long is it going to take?” Jem

Thomas joins the group “Is it the beetle that we saw when we went to Forest School?  Is he dead because he doesn’t like the rain?” Thomas

The beetle is now in a jar in water on the shelf in the Atelier. We will be checking regularly for any changes...

A Brief Conversation About Extinction

Documented in our Pre-school Atelier by Angela Chick, Atelierista at Reflections Nursery, Worthing on 10th July 2012

Anna (3yrs 6 mths); Ewan (4yrs 10 mths); Henry (4yrs 0 mths)

Anna: I saw a dinosaur in the museum.

Ewan: It wasn’t a real dinosaur… it was a skeleton.

Anna: It was a skeleton with skin!

Ewan: It’s not a skeleton if it has skin.

Anna: But I saw it!

Ewan: It wasn’t a real one because they’re extinct.

Anna: I saw it before they were extinct!

Ewan: No… because dinosaurs haven’t been here since when we were created by science!

Anna: What science?

Ewan: There was something called the Big Bang. The dinosaurs were here before the Big Bang, now they’re extinct.

Anna: No! I saw them before they were extinct. I saw them moving and I know it was real because it ate a fish!

Ewan: Maybe it just spat it out. They’ve been extinct a really long time. They’re not even alive!

Anna: But I saw them before they were extinct!

Ewan: No, ask your mummy and she will tell you that they’re extinct.

Anna: They’re real life, see? Look at this book!

Ewan: That’s just a picture! They’re not real ones.

Anna: This shows the clock when the dinosaurs were extincting…

Henry: They don’t stink!

Ewan: When we say extinct, it’s ex… tinct, not ‘stink’.

Anna: They weren’t extinct when I went, I saw the real one! Like this!

Ewan: No, I told you, that’s a picture – see?

Anna: OK, this is a picture, someone did draw it.

Ewan: Maybe a grown-up did.

Reflections Nursery Professional Development Day 26th May 2012

Inspired by Reggio

A Professional Development Day offering an introduction to the infant-toddler centres and pre-schools of Reggio Emilia and focussing on the work of Reflections Nursery, Worthing 

Date: Saturday 26th May 2012, from 10.00am until 3.30pm

Venue: Reflections Nursery, Worthing and St Paul’s Centre, Worthing

Cost: £50 (full-time students £25), including refreshments and a light lunch

What does it mean to for a UK nursery to draw inspiration from the Reggio Approach? What are the differences between a pre-school in Reggio Emilia and a nursery like Reflections? What are the benefits of project-based learning in early years education? What is the role of an early years educator? How can we best support children’s creativity?

Martin Pace, Director of Reflections, along with Angela Chick, Senior Atelierista and Yvonne Barr, Nursery Manager will be supported by other Reflections educators to give presentations and workshops covering five years of children’s learning at Reflections.

Participants:

We welcome registrations from all those working in the area of early childhood education and on creative arts/education projects with young children. 

Programme

- A tour of Reflections Nursery with a Reflections educator

- Presentation & Discussion: A Pre-school in Reggio Emilia & Reflections Nursery – what do they have in common?

- Lunch and a tour of Reflections Nursery with Reflections educators

- Workshop 1: Long-term project work at Reflections

- Workshop 2: Supporting children’s creativity

- A further tour of the nursery with a Reflections educator

Please see registration form attached or contact susan@reflectionsnurseries.co.uk  for further details.

Reggio Emilia Study Tour 2012

I have worked in the early years sector since 1994 and made my first study tour to Reggio Emilia in 2003.  I can honestly say that until my first visit to Reggio I did not understand (properly) what my role needed to be in order to best support children's learning. It is, of course, a glib thing to say but... Reggio changed my life.

After my first visit I simply wanted to move there and work in a Reggio pre-school. I wanted to be part of something so inspirational and so open to new possibilities (I speak some Italian so this was not as far-fetched as it sounds). But I came to see how I could draw inspiration from the Reggio Approach and yet, "trust in the richness of our own context" here in the UK.

I have since been back on six further study tours and will be accompanying two educators from Reflections on the next study tour in April 2012.

It is impossible to describe the richness and quality of the environments, the educators' passion and commitment to ongoing research, and the sheer beauty of the schools.  Which is why I simply recommend that you go.  













If you work with young children as an educator or artist, or if you influence policy regarding children, then beg, borrow or steal to take a place on next year's UK study tour to Reggio.  Information here through Sightlines Initiative:

http://www.sightlines-initiative.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=reggio-study-week.html&Itemid=7

I look forward to meeting you there.

Martin Pace
1.12.11    

Reflections Charity Choice

Reflections Nursery gave parents and staff a choice of three charities to support over the next two years. The votes have been counted and they were disappointingly close - which of course means that nearly two-thirds of people will not get the charity they voted for. You may have spotted a similarity with the UK political electoral system; so I guess we have at least been democratic.

The results are as follows:
Sponsoring children through Plan UK - 88 votes
Ferring Country Centre - 108 votes
Re-Create - a new charity to be set up by Reflections providing creative opportunities for local children - 115 votes.

So Re-Create it is!

May we take the opportunity to say a huge thank you to all who voted. We will register Re-Create immediately and start work on fundraising plans